The national homebuilder in recent days acquired a fully entitled 3.5-acre development site across from the Great Mall where it could construct up to 94 townhomes.

KB did not release the purchase price, but county records indicate the Valley's largest homebuilder paid about $13.7 million for 48 of the 94 buildable lots. The seller was an affiliate of Citation Homes. KB Home is also likely to complete its acquisition of the rest of the lots in the near future.

KB Home spokesman Craig LeMessurier told me that KB hoped to start delivering the first units by the end of 2014. The three-story floor plans will range from 1,645 to 1,850 square feet.

"We've had success in the past in Milpitas, and this is another great opportunity for KB Home to enter that market," He said. "We're happy to be offering new townhomes in the coming year. It's a fantastic, commuter-friendly area with the BART station, Great Mall, and very close to Silicon Valley's jobs centers."

KB Home is not alone. Milpitas has been among the most active Silicon Valley cities for homebuilding in the past couple years, particularly around the planned BART station at the Great Mall. The city several years ago implemented a new planning district that encouraged high-density housing near the site. So far, 3,700 new housing units have been approved. The plan allows for some 7,000 units in the area. (Click here, here, here and here for more on the Milpitas storyline.)

KB does not currently have any projects under construction in Milpitas. Its previous project there was in 2007, with Terra Serena, a 700-unit project near the San Jose Flea Market. But KB has been hankering to get into the booming Milpitas housing market for a while: It applied to the city to build Preston Village, which would have included 213 units, off Bothelo Lane, but the project was denied.

Correction/Clarification

Corrects headline and first paragraph to indicate correct size of parcel. Also provides more details on number of lots acquired in initial acquisition.